“We fitted an alarm to the roof earlier this year but the thieves somehow got around it so we’re having to sleep here until the system can be extended.”

Rev Hobson called for the law to be changed, warning that although no lives had been put at risk in this case, others were in danger when communications systems were targeted.

Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, branded the Hornchurch thefts “absolutely sick” and said the criminals’ action should be treated as “aggravated trespass” to ensure they receive harsher penalties in the courts.

Copper thefts have become so prevalent that police and ambulances had to send patrols out to Wiltshire villages whose landlines were cut by criminals this month as those stranded were told to flag down vehicles if they needed help.

The crime spree is also causing chaos on the rail network, with up to eight attacks every day, which have caused about 240,000 minutes of delays so far this year.

Last month, officers in Lincolnshire were forced to throw a “ring of steel” around Horncastle after the market town was blighted by metal thieves targeting churches, village halls, nurseries, schools, and isolated homes and businesses.

The Serious Organised Crime Agency has begun to investigate whether criminals are exporting stolen metal abroad, with soaring demand on the international market pushing up the price of copper and other commodities in recent months.